On This Day: Civil Rights Act of 1964 Signed Into Law

Blogger: Amber Lemus

On this day, July 2, 1964, a very important change came to the United States of America. The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Johnson, which made segregation illegal and went a long way in promoting equality over racism in the workplace and public spaces.

Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Public Domain

But did you know this wasn't the first effort to legislate Civil Rights? The 1964 law was actually the culmination of years of activism and protest by civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., who had advocated for an end to segregation and discrimination since the emancipation proclamation.

The first civil rights law in the United States was the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which was enacted on April 9. This pivotal legislation was the first to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law. Since this was the first law to be passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, it was primarily aimed at protecting the civil rights of persons of African descent born in or brought to the United States. Congress passed the law twice; however it was vetoed twice by President Andrew Johnson. Congress then voted to override his veto, which made it the first major law to be passed without Presidential signature.

While the 1866 law granted all citizens, regardless of color or previous enslavement, the right to make and enforce contracts, sue and be sued, give evidence in court, and inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, many argued that Congress didn't yet have the authority to enforce such a law on individual states. It wasn't until the passage of the 14th amendment two years later, which officially gave Congress the power to prevent discrimination by states and bestow certain protections equally under the law. Still, this first legislation fell short. Efficacy of the law was continually undermined by the activities of groups such as the KKK, and while it was "technically" illegal to discriminate for housing and employment based on race, the law failed to provide federal penalties for doing so, which basically meant it was left up to individuals or states where people who couldn't afford or acquire legal representation suffered.

President Grant Portrait 1875
Public Domain

In 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant requested legislation prohibiting race-based violence against African Americans. It was passed within a month of his request and is also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. President Grant utilized the authority granted to him under this law many times during his presidency, and as a result he successfully disbanded the Ku Klux Klan, or at least the first era of it.

In 1875, Congress took yet another step toward racial equality and added legislation prohibiting discrimination in "public accommodations and transportation", and also stating that no one could be excluded from jury service because of race. It was also signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant but this was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883 who ruled it as unconstitutional, stating Congress could not regulate conduct of individuals. It would be a hundred and thirty years before the repeal of this law was rectified.

Amos T. Akerman, appointed Attorney General by Grant,

who vigorously prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan

Public Domain

From 1875 until 1957, no more Civil Rights laws were passed. Our African American population suffered with few laws to protect them from mistreatment, and authorities who hesitated to enforce the laws that were on the books. Activists and protests increased until what is known as the "Civil Rights Movement" was born.

The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, although limited, marked the first attempts since Reconstruction to deal with civil rights. The 1957 Act established a Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department and a Commission on Civil Rights to investigate discriminatory conditions. The 1960 Act provided for federal voting referees to assist in voter registration. These acts laid the groundwork for the comprehensive 1964 Act, which would decisively outlaw segregation and discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

President Kennedy Addressing the Nation regarding Civil Rights
Public Domain

The passage of the act was a battle. It was introduced by President Kennedy in 1963, but met with fierce opposition from some lawmakers, who argued that it was an overreach of federal power. They stifled the bill within committees, and proponents of the bill struggled to get it brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Even when they did, it was killed by a filibuster more than once. After the assassination of President Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill forward and was finally the one to sign it into law.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a major milestone in the struggle for equality and justice in the United States. It paved the way for further legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and continues to be an important tool for combating discrimination and promoting equality today.

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Rebecca Price Janney

In mid-January Americans take a day off to celebrate the life and accomplishments of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the most acclaimed Civil Rights leader of the 20^th century.  How did he rise to such a place of prominence, however?  It all began 60 years ago in the city of Montgomery, Alabama.  In his book, Stride Toward Freedom, King recalled:

One day after finishing school, I was called to a little church, down in Montgomery, Alabama.  And I started preaching there.  Things were going well in that church, it was a marvelous experience.  But one day a year later, a lady by the name of Rosa Parks decided that she wasn’t going to take it any longer.  .  .  .  It was the beginning of a movement. 

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in Brown vs. The Board of Education that public school segregation was unconstitutional.  Blacks throughout the South anticipated a new day as the legally recognized equals of whites.  It quickly became obvious, however, that segregation still needed to be challenged on other levels.


Rosa Parks

On Thursday, December 1, 1955 a 42 year-old seamstress named Rosa Parks, weary from a long day of work behind a commercial steam press, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus.  She had taken a place past the first ten rows, which were reserved for white passengers.  When that section filled and a white man boarded, the bus driver told the black riders to move even further back so that white man didn’t have to sit so close to them.  At first no one moved.

“You all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats,” the driver commanded. 

With the rolling of eyes and shuffling of feet, three blacks abandoned their seats, not wanting any trouble.  Only Rosa Parks sat still.  The driver threatened to have her arrested, and she answered calmly, “Go ahead, you may do that.” 

Rosa Parks is arrested

In response to her bravery, Montgomery’s black clergy took immediate action.  Led by Dexter Avenue Baptist Church’s new pastor, Martin Luther King, Jr., a strike against the bus company was announced on December 5 under the auspices of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).  Parks commented in her 1992 book, ‘‘The advantage of having Dr. King as president was that he was so new to Montgomery and to civil rights work that he hadn’t been there long enough to make any strong friends or enemies.’’  (Parks and Haskins, Rosa Parks)  At first, the organization called for a modest change in the situation, that blacks and whites be seated on a “first come, first served” basis, with blacks filling the back of the buses first.  They also requested that the bus company hire black drivers and treat passengers of color courteously.  The owners refused to budge. 

Year of the Bus Boycott

During that next harrowing year in Montgomery, ridership on the buses went down by roughly 90% as blacks stayed off the nearly empty vehicles, crippling the white-owned company financially.  Blacks paid a high price as well.  The Ku Klux Klan bombed King’s house, after which he told a crowd that gathered, ‘‘Be calm as I and my family are. We are not hurt and remember that if anything happens to me, there will be others to take my place.’’  In addition, black motorists, particularly in carpools, faced ongoing harassment for the most trivial—and fabricated—traffic violations.  Black women who worked as domestic servants walked hundreds of miles that year to their work and back because of their firm conviction that segregation must end for themselves and future generations. Both Rosa Parks and her husband Raymond lost their jobs because of their involvement in the boycott. 

The community drew together

The bus strike lasted 382 grueling, difficult days, until December 20, 1956 when the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on the buses was unconstitutional.  That is how the nation got a new hero in Martin Luther King, Jr., whose leadership in the cause for Civil Rights lasted until his death in 1968.

The strike comes to an end

Do you have any personal connection to this event or the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s? 

 

 

 

After her book, Great Women in American History was first published in the late 1990s, Rebecca Price Janney had an opportunity to meet Rosa Parks at a Philadelphia Black Clergy event.  She presented Mrs. Parks with a copy of the book, opened to the photograph about the civil rights icon.  The elderly Mrs. Parks looked at it for a few seconds then told Rebecca, “I was much younger then.”  It was a highlight of Rebecca’s life as a historian and author.  For more information visit www.rebeccapricejanney.com